Pregame splat
Tsuen was an elvish border city, sitting on the Dales/Valley border, on the Coast Road. It served as an interface between the Dales and the Valley, serving both border security and trade. It was ruled by the High Lady High Arcanist Maya D'larariel, and Tsuens fall was what lead her to relocate to Castle Calaelen. Roughly 6 months prior to today, news spread up the Valley about Tsuens fall. Not much was known about it, other than an army of Devils invaded and absolutely levelled the city. A stream of survivors escaped, a number of which became refugees, travelling north and resettling all along the coast road. A month and a half prior to today, Lady Maya approached Warden Mortimer and his Order of Hellknights, asking him to retake and rebuild the city. The first step was setting up a base of operations and retaking the gatehouse in the wall surrounding the northern border of the city. Warden Mortimer, his horse Crusher, Laniss (of The Great Downwards Engineering fame), and Tumiko and her warband, The Iron Fist, have deployed to make this happen The Iron Fist is an Orcish Mounted unit hailing from Greyton, about 50 strong. While they're all Orc, all mounted, and all decked out in blue and black colours, there is otherwise no other form of unity. They sit astride a mixture of beasts, ranging from giant boars, horses, worgs and wolves to what even appears to be a crippled griffon. Likewise, they're wearing everything from finely crafted leather armour to dented and scratched piecemeal plate. Some have axes, others sword and shield and more than a few have a lance strapped to the side of their mount of choice. The Iron Fist left Greyton for Tsuen almost a month prior to today, travelling slowly down the Coast Road, often splitting up into small groups as they went. They scoured the country side, gathering up personnel and materials for their assault on Tsuen. A variety of people have been recruited by The Iron Fist in this manner. Firstly, a number of Tsuen refugees have volunteered, some with revenge burning in thier bellies, others simply because their pride couldn't abide the loss of their home. Not all are willing to fight, but The Iron Fist needs labourers as much as it needs soldiers. Some even simply gifted things of value; iron, gold, items and weapons. Others, pure of heart, have volunteered because they need to see evil driven from the land. The fall of Tsuen was the first catastrophe of that magnitude seen in hundreds of years, and people from all walks of life have stood up to help return the city to elven hands Yet others have volunteered mostly because they enjoy a fight, and Tsuen promises to deliver. Next come the mercenaries and paid help. Soldiers of all races, ranks and religions, carpenters, masons, smiths and labourers, simply following the promise of steady coin. Lastly are the conscripts. Made up mostly of the less "civilised" races, these people have been coerced, bullied or blackmailed into helping. They have all 'chosen' to be there, but some had more freedom of choice than others. By the time The Iron Fist reached Tsuen, it had gathered a force nearly 700 strong, as a mix of soldiers and workers. In typical Orcish fashion, the only ones deemed worthy of battle were the orcs and half orcs, with a begrudging nod to the hobgoblins. Also thrown in to the main fighting force are those deemed to have nothing of value to offer except thier lives - goblins, kobolds, tengu and other lesser races, simply to act as cannon fodder. All other races, regardless of their reasons for joining, are shuffled into support roles. Patrols, supplies, or even moved into the construction team. Not everybody is happy about the state of affairs, but no one who matters, cares Immediately upon reaching Tsuen, The Iron Fist and co began construction of a rough wooden fort. Ripping their way into the nearby forest, much to the dismay of the elves, they threw up a two storey wooden building surrounded by a log palisade. As it took merely days to complete it's pretty rough and basic, but it works. Meanwhile, hunting and gathering parties have been going out, sourcing food and water, while noting anything of interest in the nearby area. Finally, with preparations complete, all eyes turn to the walls of Tsuen, In their prime, the Tsuen city walls would have been a magnificent sight. Made up entirely of interwoven trees, each as thick as a purple worm, it forms a solid wall almost a hundred feet high. The trees themselves tower higher than that, but begin to branch out, forming a thick canopy. The 'gatehouse', if you can call it that, is a tree that manages to dwarf even the others in the wall. At at least 60 foot thick and hundreds of feet high, it is likely the largest tree you will ever see. At its base, a large knot of exposed roots meet the end of the road and form what you imagine is somehow the gate through the wall. As magnificent as the first impression is, a closer look shows signs of wear and tear. The trees are drooping and aren't quite as lush as you think they should be, and are often missing huge patches of foliage, probably due to fire. There are large patches of missing or discolours bark - either signs of disease, corruption or newly healed wounds, you aren't sure. The ground infront of the wall is churned and burned, stripped of a lot of its vegetation, and the road is pocked and barely recognisable. It isn't obvious how the Warden plans to assault the city, but that isn't your problem The Warden, apparently a huge fan of small adventuring bands, has ordered a number of the newly deputised Iron Fist members to be split off and made into groups of 5-7. This has been done, but somewhat randomly, with no care for party balance or cohesion. You are such a group. You are sitting in your little "adventuring party" inside the wooden fort awaiting orders. Perhaps you should take the opportunity to get to know the people you'll likely to die with